


The End

by MandaloreTheBore



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Canon, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:34:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21948154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandaloreTheBore/pseuds/MandaloreTheBore
Summary: Everything is going right for Boruto Uzumaki, or so he hopes.Konohagakure is safe, and Kara has been defeated. Years pass by without much incident, and yet it seems like the Konoha shinobi can rarely catch a break.Even in times of peace, therein lies turmoil.Still, Boruto's years of victories leave him unprepared for what lies ahead: The End, the end of everything.(Starting over with a revised version as of 10/10/2020)
Relationships: Hyuuga Hanabi/Sarutobi Konohamaru, Sarutobi Mirai / Mitsuki (Naruto), Uchiha Sarada/Uzumaki Boruto, Uzumaki Himawari/Yamanaka Inojin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. The Beginning of the End

"Gah, I can't believe you! You're just too thickheaded for your own good!" said a voice that pierced the hum and drum of the previously peaceful town market.

"Now, now, try to come down!" said the voice of a certain blond shinobi. As he tried to stifle his laughs. Boruto Uzumaki could not help but feel ecstatic at the day the two were having.

There was nothing like patrolling the town in civilian clothing and doing it with a cute female shinobi at the same time. Though that shinobi did turn out to be Sarada Uchiha…

On second thought, Boruto was not too sure if this would be as pleasant of a day as he planned.

As was the same for Sarada, much to her dismay.

"I just… you… _urgh…_ " the raven-haired Kunoichi looked down in defeat as she clenched his fists in frustration. As much as the two enjoyed the bonds of their friendship and relative teamwork, dealing with Boruto's antics were impossible.

"How did you find the opportunity anyway? You've been with me the whole time!" Sarada still confused at the scene before her, which made her further frustrated.

"Life, or rather Kage no Bunshin, find a way…" Boruto retorted cheekily, pretending to be some sort of philosopher as he mused with faux artistic movements to mock the girl. This did not last long as Sarada punched his arm in return, _hard._

She was clearly getting exasperated at the sheer volume of stress that followed in her adventures with the blond shinobi. One of these days if he was not careful, she would get her revenge.

" _Hopefully sooner rather than later._ " Sarada thought to herself. " _With all the trouble he causes me, it'll be a miracle if I don't die prematurely because of him. Everywhere we go with Boruto, trouble just seems to follow in one form or the other…_ "

Sarada was knocked from her mental anguish when her fellow shinobi sheepishly laughed again as he plucked up a pear from the street vendor in the closest proximity.

"I can't help it -Dattebasa- and besides, what's life without a little spice!?" Boruto finished saying as he tossed the shopkeeper some ryo, and some extra, for his troubles.

"You call _that_ a little spice?!" the teen cried in shrill tones as she pointed to the Hokage Monument. The prestigious rock faces had been defaced by none other than the shinobi in question.

Boruto had seemingly covered them in orange paint from head to well, head with long streaks on insults. Most of them were non-offensive and lighthearted for those he knew, but the biggest in both size and intensity was the use of "Asshole" on the face of one Naruto Uzumaki, the Nanadaime, in fat bold letters.

"Calm down Sarada it's just a little prank. The old man needs something to keep him on his toes, otherwise, he'll just- he'll just wither and die." the young man said sheepishly as he tried his best to defend his actions, finishing his pear in a couple of bites. Boruto had not really been wanting to reveal his true reasoning to the Kunoichi in front of him for fear of embarrassment.

"Then why don't you just spar with him like a normal shinobi if you're that worried?! Honestly, Boruto I thought you were past this rebellious phase of yours." said Sarada accusingly, refusing to let Boruto get away with this brazen act of childishness.

"What rebellious phase?" Boruto said defensively with a look of pain on his face. "There are no _phases_ , there is only me: Boruto Uzumaki!" Boruto said with a puff of his chest and full of pride. "What you see is what you get."

"Kami help us all then." Sarada shot back quickly.

"Ouch! You wound this heart of mine." Boruto said jokingly as he clutched his chest and recoiled as if he were wrought with pain, nearly about to hit the ground. "Now only if there was a certain medic-nin around that could heal the damage you caused." Boruto continued, pushing his luck.

"You know he'll be here soon, right?" Sarada said to Boruto with a sigh, resigning herself to just ignore trying to stop his antics, _for now._

"Do I know? _Do_ I know?" Boruto replied in a high-pitched tone to Sarada mockingly.

"Sarada, I'm counting on it." Boruto said with a grin as he jumped in the air whilst throwing his arm back to catch the incoming fist of another certain yellow-haired shinobi.

The gust of wind was generated by the force Naruto Uzumaki used to launch himself at Boruto and it alerted him to the old man's arrival. This was not Boruto's first foray into pranking his father, and so he knew his usual response time down to a T.

" _Really,_ " he thought to himself "It's amazing that Dad can call himself a shinobi. I just can't see him sneaking around or being that effective at stealth at all. Especially in that old orange jumpsuit of his, sheesh." Boruto was unfazed by the punch of the older Uzumaki, having caught it perfectly in his hand. The wonders of years of ninja training bearing full fruit.

"BOOOOOORUTOOOO!" screamed Naruto Uzumaki, shaking Boruto out of his thoughts. Naruto was tired of his son's antics, and just tired in general.

He had rushed over as soon as he saw, determined to get to the bottom of such dishonor and blatant disrespect to the village of Konoha. There was only one Shinobi he knew foolhardy and bold enough to challenge him in such a way.

"Otou-san!" cried back Boruto with wolfish grin. "I see you have gotten my message."

"I sure did alright, and so did thousands of others! You are supposed to be guarding the city! Not defacing monuments!" Naruto accused, still exasperated at the thought of the paperwork piling up back in his office.

"We are, as you can see the tyranny of pear prices is a leading issue in today's economy." said Boruto slightly shaking the core of the finished pear in his other hand that was without fist.

"Can you believe I paid 5,000 ryo just for this singular pear? That's highway robbery right there." Boruto said with a catty smile.

Boruto just could not help but give the people he loved a hard time. In fact, one could say he thrived off it.

As the two started to float down from their mid-air clash, Naruto was growing calmer by the minute as they soon touched back down in the market square.

"Argh, where did I go wrong with you. You're 19 for Kami's sake, let alone a Jonin." Naruto said holding a hand up to his head and shaking it slightly.

"There's nothing wrong with me; I'm perfect in every way!" Boruto said whilst giving a thumbs up and a smile.

"Boruto…" his father deadpanned. "If you had wanted to talk there are better ways to reach me then to dishonor your elders." Naruto had seen through Boruto's shoddy and blatant reasoning.

As an experienced shinobi it was quite easy to see Boruto had riled him up to get him to come here more so than to just mess with his father. While their relationship was better in days past, Boruto still yearned for his busy father at times, as well as to get his mind off things. To Boruto there was nothing like a good prank, and while Naruto understood that to a degree, why did they always seem to involve the village? The boy perplexed him so.

"Why can't you just call and leave a message like Himawari or your mother?" Naruto asked as his face drooped and contoured miserly.

"I tried to tell him Nanadaime-sama. He just wouldn't listen, like usual!" Sarada said huffing and crossing her arms at Boruto

"Oof! That's two for two Sarada, if you keep going like that, I'm actually gonna need you to heal me." Boruto said facing the girl with a grin. "And besides Oyaji, nothing's as quick as you when you're angry." Boruto said returning to face his father. "I thought I'd do it for old times' sake, but there was another reason to get you out of that stuffy office as well." Flashing a quick smile Boruto knew his father would get over it eventually. A fellow prankster, even if they are a former one, cannot be mad at a prank for too long. It is just not possible for those young at heart.

"Well, I'm already out of the office, and my workflow is ruined. What is it you thought important enough that you had needed to talk to me right now?" Naruto said with a sigh, regretting it almost instantly as the words left his mouth.

"I've come up with a brand-new technique that'll put even you on your ass!" Boruto exclaimed with glee

"Oi." piped in Sarada. "That's news to me."

"Yeah well I don't have to tell you about _everything_ Sarada. How else will I maintain my air of mystery about me?" said Boruto half-seriously.

"You're as easy to read as an Icha Icha book." Sarada said nonchalantly as Naruto snickered much to his son's disapproval.

Jiraiya may have been Naruto's sensei and father-figure but even he could agree there's not much difficulty in writing about voluptuous breasts and tantalizing and erotic situations. The real difficulty is in the ever-expanding and non-repeating vocabulary, and however the Ero-Sannin did it, he did it with much gusto.

"Ergh!" Boruto fell over almost as if he practiced how best to look wounded in front of the girl. "I really can't take much more Sarada. Soon I'll be wrapped up in a hospital bed." He goaded while sitting up on the ground

"Too bad, baka. We should bolt you to it instead. Sticks and stones will break your bones but it's up to you if words truly hurt you." Sarada said with no guilt for the blond Shinobi, blind to the hidden undertones in the conversation.

"It'd be much easier if you just hit me with the sticks and stones instea-" Boruto found himself cut off by the Nanadaime's quick cry of "Boruto!" and both Sarada and Boruto were silenced and turned their full attention back to Naruto.

"I understand being in love, but I really don't have time to stand around and watch you two flirt." Naruto said much to the shock and horror of those in front of him.

"Ehhhh?" the two shinobi found themselves saying in unison

"L-Love!?" stammered Boruto quickly "Flirting!?" finished Sarada just as fast with her face turning as red as a certain Red-Hot Habanero's hair.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Boruto tensed and looked away from them both with a huff and a light rose blush coloring his cheeks.

"As if I'd be caught dead with the likes of him." Said Sarada equally filled with righteous indignation yet nervousness as she also could not stand to bring her eyes to Boruto's.

"Sheesh, in such denial. Really the two of you should just tie the knot already." Naruto said with a fat toothy grin. Teasing the two with the repeated waving of his hand.

"You know I wasn't that much older than yourself when Hinata and I got married…" Naruto followed up with said dropping the pretenses a bit, and, uncharacteristically, being serious.

Boruto's face filled with a red as deep as a cherry beet at the sincere words of his father and left his mouth agape. The shinobi with a mouth was finally without the last word. The equally disheveled Sarada had decided to check herself out of the situation entirely, as her brain seemed to cease functioning. Her only outward reaction was a glassy stare that went off into nowhere, still showing she was just as deeply put off by the thought.

Naruto had decided he had enough of teasing the two, even if it was some great revenge on his son. Sarada, the poor girl, got caught in the crossfire but anything was worth it if he could shut up Boruto even if just for a minute.

"If it's a jutsu you wanted to show me then why don't we head to the local training grounds. Better we ruin the ground there than risk civilian's lives here." Naruto said, and not wanting to waste any more time then he had to, turned, and started heading there, as both young shinobi remained flustered.

"H-Hai" Boruto said as he followed his father, the first to recover. Trying to get the thoughts of him and Sarada together out of his mind turned out to be more difficult than he initially thought.

Sarada, not wanting to be left out of the loop any longer if her teammate had truly invented a new jutsu and looking for a way to get the idea of both love and Boruto, she perished at the thought, out of her head too, quickly followed.

Watching two top shinobi battle was a surefire way to clear anything from your mind.

Even if it was just a way to evade what may be the _truth_.

**000**

As the group of three approached the training ground, they dashed through the trees hopping from limb to limb. The two young shinobi were still flustered yet not enough to have any visible effect on their appearances.

Boruto soon became lost in thought, was he truly ready? Yes, he had to be, otherwise, he could not be Boruto. At least, that's what it felt like to him.

Truth is, if he wasn't ready it meant he was about to get his ass kicked in front of his teammate and father, and that prospect didn't seem too exciting to him, but before he could think more on it, they had already arrived.

The training ground they chose was a common sight to Naruto. A small grassy clearing surrounded by trees with a river that ran through and a cliff face at one of the farthest edges.

Yep, Naruto felt at home alright. He grimaced for his son, after all, even if the jutsu was a bust he would not hold back. Naruto had his own stresses he needed to release hence why he had agreed to the unsaid invitation in the first place.

Not ones to waste time, the father and son got into their respective fighting stances as Naruto entered his Kyuubi form, the warm orange chakra cloak enveloped him fully. Creating intricate patterns and designs as he became the chakra itself. He knew this feeling all too well.

" _Ready Kurama?_ " Naruto asked inwardly

Disliking having been awoken for something so tedious, Kurama belted back with a loud snarl. " **Let's teach your brat a lesson.** "

"You know Oyaji, you're the perfect training dummy." Boruto smirked as he spoke to his father catching him off guard.

"Oh? And why is that?" Naruto replied, responding to the taunt in kind.

"Cause, against you there's no need to hold back!" Boruto shouted excitedly.

" _But why would you hold back against a training dummy in the first place...? Just when you think Boruto was about to say something cool._ " Sarada thought as the young shinobi's words had perplexed her, as usual.

Sarada sighed " _Stupid Boruto-baka!_ " and with her thoughts somewhat cleared, Sarada resigned herself to be the proctor, knowing she'd be asked anyway. She would play along to these Uzumaki games, for now.

She supposed there was some merit in practicing against a live target compared to one that can't dodge, but not to see the destructive power of a jutsu, and she was a hundred percent sure that's why Boruto challenged his father in the first place.

Still, she took her place safely to the side of the clearing, where she could observe and at last distract herself from the burden of thought.

"Sarada, if you would- Dattebayo" Naruto called over to her

"Hai, Hokage-sama." If Boruto had invented a new jutsu, now would be the best time to learn it through her Sharingan anyway.

Her black pupil morphed into the three-tomoe pattern with red circles activating ready to receive any and all observations of the world around her.

This should prove enlightening in some ways at least.

Learning from the Nanadaime, even if albeit indirectly, was an honor. After all she was still very much wanting to be Hokage herself. What could be better than seeing one in action?

"3. 2. 1. GO!" Sarada yelled as the two began to charge at each other.

Boruto ran full speed in a lightning covered chakra cloak using it to increase his strength and agility and in the blink of an eye engaged in taijutsu with his father.

This however would be a losing tactic for him, and they both knew, and as such Boruto tried to distract his father with a punch to the gut.

However, this was swiftly blocked by an upwards kick from Naruto knocking his hands in the air leaving Boruto wide open.

Sarada winced as she knew what would happen next, the teen had left himself to be defenseless. Honestly to charge directly against the Nanadaime was suicide but Boruto would not have it any other way.

Sarada was surprised to not hear a slam moments later and opened her eyes to find that Boruto caught his father's wrist just before he could take the air out of his lungs.

"Ah, so that's how you want to play." Said Naruto as he looked over at his son's eye.

Boruto had seemingly not wanted to lose to his father more than test his new jutsu, his Jogan blazing blue through his iris with black sclerae, the karma mark blazing yet remained seemingly inactive.

Naruto decided to not ruin his son's pride just yet and let himself be tossed into the ground as Boruto jumped into the air and spun him around and around through the grip on his wrist.

As he collided to the ground it was obvious to everyone that Naruto let Boruto win that exchange.

"Oi!" Boruto screamed. "You won't beat me if you don't try Oyaji!"

"Are you so sure about that?" Naruto rhetorically asked.

"I'll show you not to underestimate your opponent!" Boruto said incensed at the thought of not being a serious threat to his father, as much as he knew it was the case.

He soon landed from his earlier jump and looked up with a hazardous twinkle in his eye realizing they were a good distance apart.

Sarada soon realized the glint was matched in Naruto's eye as well. Not good. These stubborn fools would spill over to and ruin the village at this rate.

" ** _RASENGAN!_** " the two Uzumaki's yelled simultaneously as the extreme masses of chakra began to form in the respective Uzumaki's hand.

It was this predictability that had caused Boruto to want to seek new jutsus to begin with. But to back down when their orbs seemed similarly sized?

Impossible.

He was his father's son after all.

"AGHHHHH!" both screamed as they raced to be the first to smack the other with their "planetary" sized Rasengans.

As the chakra balls collided the world seemed to stand still for a moment. This was not two Genins, after all, it was the Hokage and a Jonin going at it.

Even if one technically remained a Genin.

Though extreme prejudice was to be expected, Sarada still stood in awe as the balls cannibalized each other before combining, and after a few moments of reaching its apex size, it quickly exploded.

Neither had left much room for the other to escape and as such both were caught in the blast that utterly decimated the landscape around the exchange.

As the dust settled Boruto found himself a few hundred feet away from the crater. He was not unfazed by the blast but became further enraged at the sight of his father at ground zero of the attack, as if asking for more.

Well if he was asking for it Boruto would be sure to deliver.

"Heh, cocky Oyaji" Boruto thought, himself growing cocksure, "Try this on for size."

"Are you ready?" Boruto asked quite simply.

"Ready for you to stop wasting my time that is." Naruto shot back hotly.

This only served to piss Boruto off. He would show his old man.

" _ **LIGHTNING RELEASE: TWIN DRAGONS OF THE HEAVENS**_ " yelled Boruto at the top of his lungs.

Boruto summoned two large Rasengan shaped orbs that quickly unfurled themselves around his arms, yet still spinning at intense speeds in their tendrils.

Naruto was perplexed, but not wanting to disappoint his son, let him continue without a challenge anyway.

The chakra filled masses continued to expand to crawl up Boruto's arms almost resembling Naruto's Rasenshurikan, much to the boy's chagrin, but without its wind nature nor its shuriken shape. Then as the chakra had reached Boruto's shoulders, he knew he could finally do it.

It took immense focus and precise chakra control but Boruto closed his eyes not wanting to lose focus for a moment as he applied the change in chakra nature transformation. This changed the swirling base light blue chakra into lightning nature-based chakra giving the swirling vorticial tendrils the appearance of yellow tornados yet attached to his arm instead of freely flowing.

" _Impressive._ " thought Naruto in awe, totally dropping his guard and embracing his inner child. " _But where are the dragons he had spoken of?_ "

Alas, it would seem Boruto was not done. Now that the chakra nature was complete Boruto started to pulse waves of normal chakra into the attack, creating a combination of base and lightning chakra in the tornados and in doing so created a multi-color tornado of yellow and blue. " _And now to add the finishing touch_." thought Boruto as he shaped the chakra resembling the form of a dragon.

All these steps occurring within a matter of moments of each other, Sarada stood by amazed at the potential being shown off in front of her.

" _This is definitely something new._ " thought the raven-haired kunoichi as the dragon was finishing taking its shape.

The crackling of lightning and swirling vortex of wind and chakra having almost created the sound of a roar. This jutsu would be truly frightening to any foe to come into its path.

" _Yet that aspect is completely unnecessary._ " Facepalmed Sarada once she got over the awe of the creation, at a safe distance from the two.

Now opening his eyes Boruto used the chakra vision of the Jogan to seek the dragons on Naruto.

Said dragons were upon Naruto in a matter of seconds, using the lightning nature to their advantage, but it was not like the Nanadaime was dodging either.

" _Oh boy, this might hurt._ " Naruto braced himself, finally picking up the defense he dropped earlier and flared his orange chakra cloak in response.

The attack collided and instantly dug itself into Naruto's body, tearing at his cloak as wave after wave of swirling chakra tried to assault his flesh whilst the lightning pulsed through his system. The aftershock of which tossed Naruto back with the force of being hit by a road roller.

This attempt eventually bore fruit though, launching Naruto back several hundred feet, flinging him into the ground with a satisfying slam.

Boruto jumped up in joy at the sight before him, "And that's how it's done- Dattebasa!" but upon landing back on the ground, Boruto began to instantly collapse with his Jogan and Karma mark's blaze disappearing almost exactly after he caught himself, before throwing up and collapsing further.

The sight before Sarada was certainly one to see, both Uzumaki's collapsed on the ground, that was until Naruto quickly regained his composure and lifted himself up.

Seeing this quick recovery, Sarada was instead worried about Boruto. " _Baka doesn't know the first thing about conserving his chakra!_ " she thought as she frantically rushed over to his side " _What good is an ultimate attack like that if you collapse right afterward?!_ "

"Ugh, Boruto Uzumaki, what am I gonna do with you?" Sarada said out loud as she started to survey the damage and then administered emergency chakra reserves of her own to Boruto, assuming the position taught to her by her mother.

Boruto had a penchant for throwing himself into danger and leaving the rest to his teammates to clean up, and Sarada hated that. And yet, he looked so peaceful in his current state, with the sleeping expression of that of a newborn.

It is also hard to stay mad at one so carefree and kind-hearted when one knew it was coming from a good place.

"Wow! That was impressive as hell Boruto! Boruto? Eh, Boruto?" a battle-excited Naruto exclaimed his son's name repeatedly before realizing said son was unconscious, "Oh."

"See to it that he recovers well Sarada and tell him I thought the move was certainly creative and strong, but he could've just as easily lost both of his arms! I'm _this_ close to making that a Kinjustsu!" Naruto chided the youth as he sat there collapsed, oblivious to it all in his slumbering stupor. Even as an Uzumaki, their reserves are not infinite, and Naruto needed to get that point across even if it came belatedly.

"Hai." Sarada replied fervently.

"And Sarada?" Naruto said changing to a hushed and alarmed tone.

"H-Hokage-Sama?" Sarada shyly responded, being caught off guard by the change in demeanor.

"Make sure to not make out with the wounded." Naruto said with a nod and wink and was chuckling as he walked away from the girl's frantic protests of romance.

" _My boy may be a handful, but does he ever have some battle talent… If only he could get over coping with that humor of his, then he would be a great shinobi indeed._ " Naruto mused, empathizing with the past pains of his son. " _He could maybe even give Sai a run for his money as the leader of the Anbu, if only he wasn't so hung up on what happened._ " Naruto wistfully pushed the returning dole memories out of his head.

The past is the past, and the living in the now must come first. Naruto knew that best.

Eventually, Boruto would see him once he recovered. But what to do now? Well, now it was time for Naruto to get back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes:
> 
> Welcome to the first revised chapter of The End. I decided to partially rewrite the work because I simply was not happy with how I left it. The main narrative remains mostly unchanged, but it's telling sure does not. It was admittedly super rushed after all.
> 
> As a small aside, I was gone for personal reasons that are now resolved and will continue to be. I can expound it in other channels of communication if you are curious, but I do not want to dwell on myself instead of the story in the Author's Notes.
> 
> I am also going to try to keep these short and sweet. Though, I am unfortunately still a verbose writer, so we shall see.
> 
> If I somehow have any re-readers: Welcome back, and I hope you like the revised chapter and hopefully stronger direction.
> 
> To any new readers: I hope you enjoy what you have read so far, please let me know what you think about it! I do read comments!
> 
> Speaking of which, to iterate, I have been out of touch with the Boruto anime for a bit, and still am upon revising, though I am caught up on the manga. So, to cover my bases I am going to say consider this world formally AU but I am still trying to be close to canon and as realistic as far as "super death ninjas" can be.
> 
> After all, there is not much established for what Boruto stories are supposed to be, and I do not care too much if there is now!
> 
> Feel for to PM or review for answers to questions. I will be sure to be my loquacious usual self when I respond, but of course, no spoilers.
> 
> For now, let us just see how the world evolves, no?
> 
> Edit: Forgot to upload the HTML version, forgive me. All fixed now.


	2. The State of Kara

Boruto awoke yet something was not quite right.

He could feel something off in his current location. This probably had to do with the fact he was surrounded by a stunning array of colors and the eerie feeling of a dark, heavy, ubiquitous void.

It seemed he was standing amid a nebula, at the foot of the birthplace of stars. This was no place for a human such as him. No, this was a place for _gods_.

"Momoshiki." Boruto said turning around, it always took him a few moments to regain his wits when apparently summoned like this, but soon enough the shinobi's memories returned to him.

" **Ah, the brat.** " replied back Momoshiki, the phenomenon was not new to either of them. Boruto was Momoshiki's vessel after all. A constant reminder of Momoshiki and his fellow Otsusuki's failures, and as much as the brat irked him, he was Momoshiki's only tie to this mortal coil.

The two had struck a deal before, one that would tie them together inexplicably for as long as Boruto remained alive, and Boruto had signed it without a clue. His signature being the killing blow against Momoshiki years prior.

Finding the future of the shinobi to be so tantalizing, so raw, Momoshiki decided, rashly he was afraid, to make the shinobi his host. Unfortunately, the loss of his own body would not allow him to see it through his own eyes, and as such he had to become the likes of a lowly hitchhiker- rather unbefitting of his status as a god.

The other unfortunate effect is that he had to allow the boy his power in order to remain. Though these days it was not like he used it. Still, his mark is what allowed him to view the shinobi's journey as well, and without it, there would be no ties to this realm, and he would have passed on peacefully.

Momoshiki could think of no worse fate than passing _peacefully_. He was not just a god, but also a warrior. He should die in battle, serving his betters, or not at all. The mere thought disgusted him, more so than letting the boy have the mark.

The aforementioned karma mark rested neatly in Boruto's right palm and went nicely with his dojutsu, the Jogan.

" _ **That blasted Tomura had foreseen all of this.**_ " bitterly thought Momoshiki as he surveyed the teen in front of him. Boruto stood around awkwardly, unamused at being ungracefully summoned like this.

Letting the boy simmer longer, as it amused him, Momoshiki turned back to his thoughts. He could not lie to himself. It _was_ tempting to abandon this reality, and move on but Momoshiki was a sadist, though not one without reason. He savored the coming fall of a certain yellow-haired dobe, and for once he knew vengeance would be his. Oh yes, and how glorious it would be.

He had already gotten a taste with the other vessel not too long ago, and my, was it ever _so_ delicious.

"I'm assuming you didn't invite me here for tea." Boruto said to break the deafening silence building between them, thus pulling Momoshiki from his thoughts, but alas only for him to bring his attention to him for a split second before disregarding him again.

The alien had always made Boruto nervous. He did try to murder his friends and loved ones, remove and take all the chakra in the world, and most importantly tried to kill Boruto himself the one and only time they ever fought.

Not to mention, it was with Momoshiki's power he was able to have killed Isshiki.

But to kill Isshiki, that meant he had killed Kawaki.

" _Kawaki…_ " Boruto mused wistfully as his thoughts turned to the man he had called brother. The scars still had not healed, well physically they had, but mentally... Boruto wasn't sure if they ever would, _if they ever could_.

Like how it never seemed he never would be rid of this accursed alien either. Unless he wanted to lose his hand…

The peace between the alien and the teen always felt uneasy, but unbeknownst to Boruto, Momoshiki could do no actual harm. At least not without Boruto's permission. Boruto may be his host, but Momoshiki had not been strong enough to embed his essence into Boruto's chakra core fully, having found it protected by that traitor Tomura. Unlike, Isshiki, he was thus more of a watcher than a master.

At least, for _now_. If it were ever to change though, it would still have to be Boruto's choice. Until then being a watcher did give Momoshiki a few perks, like conversing with his host and sharing his power.

" _ **Whoopee…**_ " Momoshiki thought bitterly as he inwardly rolled his eyes. With these unpleasant thoughts, maybe it was time to address the yellow-haired elephant in the room.

" **This is no doing of mine; you came here yourself.** " the fallen god had spoken with a tone of utmost poise and grace. One rather refined for a being such as himself.

"What? H-How?" Boruto was dumbfounded, finding himself caught off guard at the response, or rather any response. Most of the time all he got was grunts or obtuse sarcastic comments. Not to mention, the last thing Boruto remembered was fighting Naruto in a bout, and he was winning. How would that bring him here?

" **Used too much chakra, I'm afraid.** " said Momoshiki feigning concern. The effort was not lost on Boruto who scowled in return.

" **Naturally, you started to rely on my power instead. Since you were calling to my realm through the mark when you fell unconscious, it brought you there and,** " Momoshiki paused with a smirk growing on his lips he gestured to the diorama of space before them. " **Here you are.** "

Boruto scowled intensely at the alien in front of him, and Momoshiki found himself growing drunk on the expression before him. He sure did love theatrics. There was not much he could do these days, with theatrics being one of those few things left he could.

" **This is where I preside while making my… _observations._** " spoke Momoshiki with a menacing smile. " **I'm sure you were not fully aware of this connection.** "

"I was not." Boruto replied without any such fanfare. "And I'm not sure I'm too keen on this either. I think this is the most you've ever spoken to me, and I don't like how that's making me feel." Boruto was frowning at the implications the alien was making.

" **Not quite right, but not quite wrong either.** " Momoshiki teased playfully dodging the shinobi's latter comment.

The response just left the yellow-haired shinobi confused and not knowing how to respond he grew silent again.

Momoshiki had been present multiple times in Boruto's bouts with Kara, but more as a phantom than a guiding presence or a trusted confidant. He only ever seemed to appear when Boruto used his power, and it wasn't every time either.

With both of them losing their attention to their own thoughts, Momoshiki also allowed the silence to descend between the two. Being "buddy buddy" with Boruto was not what Momoshiki was here to do. With his true goal, observation, in mind, Momoshiki continued to reflect on the adventures he had observed with the shinobi.

This seemingly caused the space they were in started to fluctuate some and Momoshiki allowed his thoughts to appear physically before him and Boruto.

After all, Boruto was his guest and the scene Boruto originally found himself in was from his own memories. No human could think of such a space, let alone be remembering a first-hand account of a nebula. Such was the superior power of a god, and a god _alone_.

The memories had the appearance of a bubble-like screen with the texture of a cloud, and the grain of it too. Secondhand knowledge wasn't as detailed after all.

Pulling his gaze towards a memory-cloud Momoshiki saw the scene before them. It seemed they were viewing when Isshiki was defeated.

The cloud zoomed into the destruction surrounding two young men. The memory clouds didn't contain much detail but were more summaries then anything, unless one specifically wanted detail, but Momoshiki just wanted to lightly observe.

**000**

Boruto Uzumaki, much younger then, found himself facing off against his sworn brother Kawaki amongst the Hokage's faces in ruins. The shining towers of Konohagakure lied in ruins behind and in front of them.

The two had just exchanged blows pausing to regain their breath, leaving them to their thoughts.

Using the power of the second less powerful ten-tailed beast, Kara had made quick work of Konoha.

However, Kawaki was no Madara Uchiha. He knew every bit counted and he would allow no counterattack no matter how pitiful it would be.

Kawaki had used the power of his karma mark to leave Konoha's top shinobi in another dimension. The shinobi foolishly gathered in one place ready to strike against the beast, thinking they could do the same as they had before.

Even the mighty Nanadaime had fallen for the trap. With no space-time ninjutsu to call his own, Naruto and all the other shinobi were left at the mercy of Kara.

Boruto surveyed the scene before him. Sensing the battle to be long and difficult he tied his scarred Forehead protector around his head in defiance, proving was ready to be a Konoha shinobi once more. It wasn't his but rather the forehead protector of one Sasuke Uchiha, who was currently entangled in trying to bring everyone back from the dimension Kawaki had trapped the rest of the Konoha shinobi in.

Boruto had lost Kawaki once, that being at the time of the death of Jigen through the combined efforts of his father, Sasuke, and Kashin Koji years ago.

And he never got him back.

The conflict had claimed Kashin Koji's life. Boruto never knew much about him but apparently, he was from the leaf. That made him one of them, and as such there was a small funeral for him juxtaposed at the time of celebration of an enemy's death. Konohagakure was safe, at least then.

Unable to track the movements of Kara without the dimensional hopping power of Jigen alerting them to his movements, and with some fuinjutsu used to seal the members Chakra so it couldn't be sensed from Sage mode, there was little that Naruto or Sasuke could do. They had known Kara would wait till Kawaki grew stronger, and until that day would come Naruto and Sasuke could afford to wait and try to make their own hand stronger. After all, they had their own Karma user to train.

And so Boruto and Sasuke had left Konoha for three long years. Boruto could not stop Sasuke from going on his missions, so that left him only the option to join him. Joining meant he had to leave his friends behind, but it would only be temporary.

In the meantime, knowing he couldn't be much of use to his team, Boruto left Team 7, replaced by Mirai Sarutobi as a favor to her cousin and favorite sidekick.

With that, things remained in a sense of uneasy peace until one fateful day Sasuke and Boruto had received an important message to return to Konoha from one of Naruto's toad summons. Kara had arrived. Knowing the coming battle was upon them they quickly returned using Sasuke's Rinnegan.

They were back, back to where Boruto was now.

Facing his friend.

His _brother_.

The two clashed, staff meeting sword, their respective weapons sounding out a memorable clang.

"I didn't think you'd go this far, Kawaki!" hissed Boruto.

"I'll send you where I sent the Nanadaime, Boruto." Kawaki replied stalwartly.

Boruto winced, "Was this the only possible outcome?" he said with a sigh.

"Yes, that's right." Kawaki would not pull any punches "The age of shinobi… is over!" Kawaki replied as another clang rang out between the two, they resumed clashing once more.

**000**

Momoshiki growing bored as he has seen the fight many times before, pulled away from the cloud bubble.

A fight like that deserved to be viewed with more detail then he could provide with all the other memories surrounding the pair. Though, it had been quite the spectacle and had left his fellow alien's plans in tattered ruins when Boruto had removed all traces to Isshiki's vessel.

No karma, no vessel, and thus no ties to this reality.

Momoshiki foresaw this of course when observing the blond shinobi's thread of fate but with no means of communication between Momoshiki and the others of his clan it would serve him no actual purpose to try and actively roadblock what would happen to his fellow clan members.

Not that he much cared for them either way. They always stood in the way of his own success and achievement while he was alive. Why would he want them to ruin his post-mortem entertainment too?

No, he was here to observe, at least for now, and so observe he shall. Though, Kara was the most interesting thing to occur to Boruto in a long while. Maybe it would have been worth it to prolong the conflict? If not just so that Momoshiki would not die of boredom. Speaking of which…

Memories of many D ranks floated through the space, the occasional C rank, and the much rarer B and A ranks. He could count the S Rank missions on his hand.

Bah, peace made things so boring at times. Momoshiki hoped every day that his clan would return, or another Kara would form again but he already knew the future when he chose his vessel, another advantage of being a watcher.

Not in this boy's lifetime at least.

More smaller victories and scenes played out before the pair. Momoshiki growing increasingly bored by the minute. He had all day every day to reflect on the boy, however Boruto had found himself flabbergasted at the amount of detail in the memory clouds surrounding them. Here was his entire life since that fateful day seven years ago.

Millions of memories were arrayed before them. There was too much to see, too much to react to, it was a miracle Momoshiki hadn't gone mad containing all these thoughts!

" _Maybe he has…_ " thought Boruto solemnly until realizing that the alien likely already had gone mad before coming to Earth. He soon lost all sense of pity and empathy that had been budding for Momoshiki, but all that supposed madness paled in comparison to the flashes of the first memory still fresh in Boruto's own mind.

"What was the point of showing this to me? Do you find joy in reminding me of my biggest failure?!" Boruto accused, confusion and anger quickly overtaking his bewilderment and wonder by the showing of the defeated god and the loss of his surrogate brother to him.

" **There was not one. I happened to get lost in thought and forget that you were here.** " Boruto was starting to get really annoyed especially after being treated like some unwanted pest. These were his memories after all, and he does not like to be toyed with them.

"You son of a-!" Boruto, about to curse out the fallen god, was cut off in surprise by the sudden change in movement from Momoshiki who got right in front of his face in the blink of an eye. It shouldn't come as a surprise, it is Momoshiki's after all.

" **Perhaps, it was best to remind you, that you are being _watched._** " Momoshiki mused with a smile, Boruto's frown growing stronger at the implications with each passing sentence from the alien.

But before he could get in his smirky reply, the world shook like it had been pounded, seemingly affronted on all sides. Suddenly a wind flew through, picking up the young shinobi pushing him farther and farther away as Boruto helplessly rode it. He could only mutter to himself "W-what the!"

" **So please, do try your best to make it a good show. Good luck with what lies ahead _boy_ , you'll need it.**" Momoshiki shouted as the young man left, not knowing if he fully heard his last thought before the boy would regain consciousness.

And with that Momoshiki was alone. He really needs to find something else to do… maybe he could pick up shogi?

**000**

Boruto awoke with a gasp and covered in sweat. Taking in his surroundings, he immediately noticed it was mid-afternoon, and he had last remembered it being near the end of the morning.

He also noticed there were clean white tile floors, the austere also white walls, some empty patient beds, and finally the smell of anti-septic in the air. It seemed like he had truly passed out from chakra exhaustion and was now in the Konoha General Hospital.

As Boruto calmed down, his thoughts returned to Momoshiki. Was that excursion all but a dream?

" **No, if I'm ever to interject, it's to prove that I'm very much real _boy._** " Momoshiki growled in his head.

" _I'd appreciate it if you weren't so loud then!_ " Boruto hissed inwardly, wincing at the unexpected response hurting his inner ears. Just his luck, it was real, and apparently Momoshiki had recently grown a tongue.

Boruto, lost in thought at the implications of having a neutral observer in his head was soon cut off by the sound of the door opening.

"Oi!" piped a familiar kunoichi "It's about time you woke up."

"How long?" asked Boruto instantaneously. A ninja learned not to waste time when in an unknown situation.

"About a day." Sarada responded in kind.

"EHHHH?" Boruto yelled "B-But then that means!"

"Yes, we are supposed to leave _tomorrow!_ " huffed Sarada back "I've been waiting for you to wake up because of that!"

Boruto gaped as he realized he had lost all the downtime he had between his missions.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Boruto said as he stared off into the void. He just could not believe it. A new move hospitalized _him?_ He is Boruto Uzumaki! He must have accidentally used too much chakra perfecting it the night before. Not to mention he didn't get any sleep because he was too excited to show it off and then he had the morning to midafternoon patrol duty with Sarada, and then he used all those shadow clones to pull the prank on his dad, and then the fight… On second thought, maybe it wasn't so farfetched. Even Uzumakis have limits.

"Isn't there any way we could postpone the mission?" Boruto turned to Sarada, trying to regain any semblance of his lost time.

"No." Sarada replied curtly in response.

"C'mon Sarada you've got at least give me something in light of this revelation." Boruto pleaded with the raven-haired kunoichi but soon realized there was no mercy in her eyes.

"No." Sarada replied curtly, again.

At least he had not just lazed away and slept through it, but nothing was worse than falling asleep just to wake up and go back to work. Boruto would have preferred death, honestly!

The revelation had taken precedence over any and all thoughts of Momoshiki. No time for space god-like demons now. Now, there was only one thing left on his mind.

"If that's the case, get me the hell out of here." Boruto said to Sarada as he started to remove his own IV and the multiple sensors that were attached to his previously comatose body.

"Eh? What for?" the raven-haired girl tilted her head in curiosity as she wondered what he would spend the last of his remaining time on.

"Even if it's the last thing I do, I'm getting a Jalapeno burger." Boruto said with his eyebrows furled and the lines of his face contoured in a serious manner.

The kunoichi deadpanned as she went to grab his papers for discharging him. She sighed. It seems that no matter how things change, somethings will always be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes:  
> Momoshiki sure is an interesting element to try and find a place for.
> 
> For any possible re-reader's I have decided to change a few things. Part of returning to an outline and WIP is incorporating new ideas you have had since and ones you have had whilst writing. Do not worry though, besides an element here or there the story structure is the same.
> 
> See you guys next time, and hopefully a bit sooner this time.

**Author's Note:**

> As to those with the thoughts of why go so far ahead within the Boruto story when there's still so much to be covered by the manga and anime respectively. Quite an easy answer: Conflict 
> 
> Now don't get me wrong there's the Kara, the Karma seals, and Otsusuki clan are all at play in Boruto at the time of writing, and for the sake of this story, we're past that point in Boruto's life. I'll explain more either through story or notes later.
> 
> However, what I truly love in a story is the conflicts of man in his greatest element: War. There's nothing like the entire world going at it, thousands of men sent to die, fighting in a true free-for-all. Hell on earth makes for a good story despite it's tragic and cold nature in reality.
> 
> What pains me most about the world of Boruto is how peaceful everything is. Don't take me as a fool, however, the peace is truly and utterly deserved by our previous protagonist. But how long can peace truly last in a world of such dangerous shinobi?
> 
> To be honest, with the peace Naruto forged, quite a while. Don't fret, I'm not going to drastically alter canon in such a way where war is forced in and appears out of nowhere, that'd be a turnoff to me too.
> 
> Rather it needs to be conceivable and I'll have to guide the story there naturally and logically instead. Now, granted, changes will have to come and by extension, new characters.
> 
> Look, I hate OCs as much as the next guy. They're usually too overpowered, too impersonal, and not strong enough in their characterization, or just simple self-inserts. I'll try my best to mitigate and avoid this, to place them as seamlessly and realistically as I can or to use canon characters where able. However, upon reflection on the nature of FanFiction all characters once their personalities, bonds, and conflicts are stable and defined are essentially that writer's OCs. Their own take of that character if you will. After all, none of us are Kishimoto himself.
> 
> Quite simple, but alas needed to be said. As such, relationships need to be formed, worlds need to grow, and as time does not stay in place for any of us, neither should it for fictional worlds. For there to be truly chaotic conflict, I must break Boruto's generation and by extension world so that when the next one grows up it can have the conflict that I had craved for Boruto's series.
> 
> Again, don't fret, we will be spending some time with our current roster for some time now, I am after all planning for this story to be a slow burn, but I really wanted to preface this, so I don't get accused of lying or misleading down the line, and so that you know what to expect in the coming chapters.
> 
> Speaking of realism, I'll try my best to give the shinobi world the level of detail and logic it deserves. I also agree with the idea that Ninja tools are underused and that knowing a super flashy and bold jutsu does not necessarily equal powerful one hit K.O. or does it mean that character is safe from danger just because they know a jutsu.
> 
> I know I kind of contradict myself with the use of a new jutsu almost inherently designed to be flashy right off the bat, but a kunai nicking a vital vein in the neck is as deadly to a human as a Chidori in the lung, though animation-wise one is a lot more fun to watch then the other.
> 
> After all, almost all the off-screen fights in the world of Naruto are done without flashy ninjutsu. How many Genin or Chunnin do you see popping off special techniques and jutsus like they're candy?
> 
> As such, don't discount ninja tools, nor don't disregard the possibility of death. Even without a shinobi world war, there are always dangerous things moving in the shadows of the Shinobi world.
> 
> With that out of the way, yes, I'll have to have pairings, just by the nature of life, and to be honest I'm open to suggestions though I have my own biases and BoruSara plus any others introduced in the story then become set in stone. Please feel free to share your thoughts, criticisms, or opinions especially about the creation of new jutsus and characters or the story in general. I can't guarantee they'll change much but I will definitely look at them.
> 
> I had originally written this story on Fanfiction.net under the same name but wanted to share to the people here to try and get some better feedback on it/more traffic, please let me know if I screwed up any AO3 stuff. I started uploading here with the 5th chapter, but now starting over with the revised version. I will be active on both accounts and will try to update them simultaneously.


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